Maid swapped employer’s gold jewellery with fakes, stole $6,300 worth over three months, Singapore News

To avoid detection, she reportedly replaced the stolen items with counterfeits.

 Although her employer suspected in January this year that his gold bracelet had been swapped for a fake, he did not confront Rustini at the time, Shin Min reported.

The gold bracelet, worth at least $2,000, and gold chain, worth at least $4,300, were stolen on two separate occasions. 

On April 14, Rustini’s employer reportedly discovered his gold chain had been replaced with a counterfeit and questioned her. When Rustini admitted to the theft, her employer lodged a police report.

Rustini reportedly told investigators that she had used the stolen gold bracelet as collateral to borrow $1,000 from a friend, who had already returned to Indonesia. She also pawned the gold chain and received $4,300 in cash. 

In mitigation, Rustini reportedly pleaded for leniency, saying she was the sole breadwinner for her family and had four school-going children to support, according to Shin Min.

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esther.lam@asiaone.com